1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lubricating device, and more specifically, to a lubricating device capable of appropriately performing oil level control by entraining micro bubbles into lubricating oil.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lubricating device faces the task of appropriately controlling the oil surface height (oil level) of lubricating oil in an oil pan. For example, a lubricating device applied to a transmission has a problem in that the stirring loss of lubricating oil increases when the oil level is too high, and conversely, another problem in that the required performance of lubrication cannot be ensured when the oil level is too low.
As a lubrication device according to the related art, there is known an art described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-9900 (JP-A-2007-9900). This lubricating device is equipped with a micro bubble generator that mixes lubricating oil with air to produce micro bubbles. By entraining micro bubbles into lubricating oil, the lubricating device increases the apparent volume of lubricating oil to adjust the oil level.